Talking Points

Three Quick Updates

Three quick updates in the "Talking Points Memo." First, "The New York Times" (search) today issued a correction about me. On Thursday, I filed a column available on billoreilly.com right now which scolded "The Times" for erroneously saying I had recommended Mel Gibson's film and flat-out lying when the paper said Gibson had deployed me.

Well, today the "Times" wrote this: "An article in 'The Arts' on Monday about the box-office success of Mel Gibson's film...misstated the use [Gibson] made of talk show hosts to publicize [the movie]. He discussed the films with conservatives like Bill O'Reilly, on Fox television, but did not 'deploy' them to encourage their audiences to see it, and Mr. O'Reilly did not recommend [the film]."

"The New York Times" did this because of you. Apparently, so many people read my column, then called the newspaper, they were besieged and they had to issue the correction or their phones would have blown up. Again, the full story is in my column on billoreilly.com.

Second, unbelievably, Jean David Levitte (search), the French ambassador to the U.S.A. says that Fox News and "The New York Post" (search) are being unfair to his country.

Said Levitte, "It was a racist campaign...We were insulted just because we were French, and it was unfair and dangerous."

What? Criticizing France for not helping America remove Saddam is racist? Incredible. And it just shows you how much France is being hurt by the boycott against it.

Third -- and this is another amazing situation -- you will remember "Talking Points" criticizes Anheuser-Busch (search) for hiring thug rapper Ludacris (search) to push beer. Now Busch got hurt big because of that, but would not disavow Ludacris.

Now Busch says, "We are taking a more cautious approach to our (advertising)...to understand what the country is feeling right now."

Hey, you pinheads in St. Louis, I'll tell you what the country is feeling right now. It doesn't want degenerate entertainers rewarded by fat cat corporations. That's what the country's feeling.

Actually, this Anheuser-Busch statement is pretty shrewd. The company wants you to think it's responding to consumer outrage over inappropriate entertainment in advertising. Well, maybe Busch is sincere. We'll continue to try to get a spokesperson on this program. So there you have it, and that's "The Memo."

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

Time now for "The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day"...

A new Gallup (search) poll shows that the average debt Americans are carrying is about $3000. Most of that is credit card generated. But here's something really interesting, the people who owe the most on their credit cards earn between $75,000 and $100,000 a year. Their average debt is close to $8000. Well, that might be ridiculous. What it does prove, though, is that the more you make, the more you spend.